Name: Salad of Spiced Lamb, Rice Vermicelli and Holy Basil
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 1 large fresh green (or Anaheim) chilli pepper; 30 red shallots or 4 red onions; 10 garlic cloves; 2 fresh birdseye (or serrano) chilli peppers; 2 cups (500 mL/16 fl oz) lime juice; ⅓ cup (90 mL/3 fl oz) fish sauce; ⅓ cup (90 mL/3 fl oz) peanut (groundnut) oil; 10 fresh lime leaves; 2 cups fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves; 250 g (8 oz) rice vermicelli; 155 g (5 oz) palm sugar; 2 cups fresh holy basil leaves; 45 g (1½ oz) palm sugar; 1½ tablespoons peanut oil; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 6 large garlic cloves; 405 mL (13 fl oz) peanut oil; 3 large fresh red chilli peppers; 15 red shallots or 2 red onions; 4 cm (1½ in) piece fresh galangal; 1½ tablespoons fish sauce; 4 lamb loins (loin roast), approximately 155 g (5 oz) per person; 2 tablespoons spice paste (above); 4 cm (1½ in) piece fresh ginger

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Taste of Australia

By Victoria Alexander and Genevieve Harris

Published 1995

About

Holy basil, sometimes known as Thai or hot basil, has a distinctive licorice flavour and small, purplish leaves. If it is unavailable, substitute green basil but use half the specified amount.

Ingredients

Spice Paste

30 red shallots or 4 red onions
10 garlic cloves

Method

TO MAKE SPICE PASTE, peel and roughly chop the shallots or onions, garlic, ginger and galangal. Chop the chilli peppers. Place all of these in a blender and add the palm sugar, peanut oil and fish sauce. Blend until you have a fine paste. Put aside 2 tablespoons of the paste for the dressing.

TO MARINATE LAMB, rub the remainder of the spice paste over the lamb loins. Set t